Still more to catch up on...

Hi there, C here,

Still Monday afternoon - still hot & sticky.

Just dropped the laundry off to see Lisa & Dylan asleep, but Kyle wide awake.

He's sitting here in the Business Center with me at the White Swan - checking my spelling - so you can blame HIM if I misspell something! (Lisa's been on me about my misspelling errors but I try to tell her that people understand our situation and look past these errors. I'm a dad, not a data entry clerk.  - Please support me with your comments!)

The laundry was reasonable - about 10 Bucks for 2 good sized bags.
We did need it, though, we were getting pretty low.

From Shenyang...
We visited the Shenyang Forbidden City (the only other FC outside of Beijing).
Picture the Beijing FC, but on a smaller scale.  The construction was very similar and the decor just as stunning.
Thank God again for the marvelous Miss Veronica..
It seems that it is Chinese royal custom to have built-up thresholds on doorways between rooms and from the house to to the outside to protect from evil spirits.  The higher the threshold, the more protection.
Great for warding off evil spirits, not so great from strollers.
We took the strollers to keep the boys under control.
So to see the FC, we had to move the boys over EVERY threshold in the place.
Some we could just lift the wheels, others we had to LIFT.
These ranged from 6" to almost 18"
I hoisted Kyle and MV (Miss Veronica) and Lisa took care of D-man.
The boys lasted almost the entire way without too much of a problem.
We have some nice photos that I hope to post once we get to Hawaii.

According to MV, evil spirits moved by shuffling their feet in a sideways heel-toe/heel-toe sort of shuffle.
MV demonstrated - I wish I had the video of that!

Now, evil sprits probably aren't MENSA members, but you'd think that at least ONE evil spirit would be bright enough to know that all he had to do was just lift his foot over the threshold and it would be happy haunting? Then he could tell all his evil spirit buddies about it.  Soon enough word would spread and the whole threshold thing would be out the window (allowing us to simply roll the boys from room to room...)?  Alas, it was not to be.  Maybe that's why they're so evil - because they're so mad about the thresholds...
Could be...

Dylan likes his new Wal-Mart special $0.99 shoes, which he discovered to his delight LIGHT UP.
He literally wakes up, says "Zhoshang Hao" (look it up!), and makes a bee line for his shoes and starts to put them on (no socks!).
He told MV that his Mama got them for him - very cute.

We do not miss Shenyang in one respect - the 24-hours sound of beeping horns.
It got to be almost background noise for us to the point that we couldn't sleep unless we heard it!
Here in Guangzhou, beeping one's horn is punishable by a fine of 200 Yuan ($30 or so), or was it 2,000?
Either way, it's MUCH quieter here.  They also outlawed Motorcycles and scooters here in 2007, due to there being too many accidents.
Guangzhou has about 9 million people, and there are 400 or so cars added to the roads every DAY.
There are nearly 1 million cars in the city.  Luckily, the small island of Shaiman where we are is very small with few cars.

It is very entertaining to watch young Dylan when he speaks in Chinese.
I have been trying to use my phrase book to try to break through to him with "toy" and "water", and other simple words and phrases.
Watching his face as he speaks to us, you would swear that he thinks we understand every word!!
He has begun to mimic quite well, and has even said his name fairly clearly.
We tested this last night on our first phone call back home to Grandma & Pop-Pop Lockhead.

Kyle just asked me to say "Hi" to all of his friends at Goddard School in Malvern.
He would like to know if today is a sunny day or a rainy day?
"Hello" to Miss Pam, Miss Jessica, and Miss Kim.
We can't wait to tell you all about our trip.

We have met many other families here in Guangzhou and many of the native Chinese ask if the boys are twins!
Mom got them matching hats!  Many people also comment on Kyle's big beautiful eyes.
One couple (Chinese) even asked MV how we, as an American / Western couple, could have produced two Asian boys.
Ever the professional, MV patiently explained that we had adopted the boys (and they were not immaculately conceived as Chinese from American parents)!

At some times, the boys seem quite close, especially during our nighttime routine.
Kyle is always the first one to Brush, Floss, and rinse with BubbleGum Fluoride Rinse.
Dylan carefully studies his big brother and accepts that he will follow when Kyle finishes.
As we though, Dylan looks to Kyle for many cues especially in unfamiliar circumstances.
Kyle usually knows this, and tries to be a good big brother.

Time to go again, Mom & Dylan will be waking shortly and she will FREAK if she sees that Kyle is missing, but doesn't see the BIG NOTE we left on the floor by the side of the bed.

Have a good afternoon.
We'll reconnect shortly....

Thanks for following.
C

---

An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps!